This article is from page 27 of the 2008-05-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 27 JPG
A RECENT visit by ten students from St John Bosco Community College in Kildysart to visit their exchange part- ners from the Ferdinand-Von-Miller Realschule in Furstenfeldbruck near Munich in Southern Germany, from April 15 to 22, proved to be an out- SIPAVILONDARSMSLELCLOCoR ISR
The aim of the visit was primarily to improve the linguistic skills of the Irish pupils who have been study-
ing German for two to three years, but also to experience first hand the sights and culture of Bavaria.
The students were accompanied by their German teacher Josephine Ryan and the school principal Mar- ion Coughlan-Flynn.
For seven days the second and third year students lived with their Ger- man exchange families and attended classes at the school in Furstenfeld- bruck. They also took part in a va- riety of activities, which included a
day trip to the spectacular castles of Neuschwanstein and Linderhof built by King Ludwig II, and a tour of the pretty little village of Oberammer- gau, which has become famous for its passion plays.
The Irish students also found time to explore the city of Munich, re- nowned for its imposing town hall, olympic stadium, markets, festivals and its friendly provincial atmos- phere.
Additionally the famous Kaufinger
Strasse proved to be a popular spot in which to engage 1n some retail thera- py. A further outstanding item on the programme was an official reception in the Landesrat in Furstenbruck held by the mayor and council members in honour of the Irish students.
On returning to school in Kildysart the Irish students had three days to readjust to school life prior to the re- turn visit of the German students to Ireland.
SUN AeerhRodouoNecemlUh IBDN in St John Bosco Community Col- lege and thus were able to engage in an interesting discussion with their Irish counterparts on the merits and disadvantages of both educational systems. The Irish students found the early starting time of school in Germany, 7.50am, difficult to adjust to during their visit to Realschule. However, the Germans advocated in- troducing lpm as a finishing time for school in Kildysart in line with the GCC eeer ema AKoeee
During their visit, the Germans were introduced to the tourist sights of County Clare and enjoyed trips to the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre, the Ailwee Caves and engaged in a surfing lesson at Lahinch. A day trip to Bunratty Castle and Folkpark, as well as subsequent shopping sprees in Ennis, Kilrush and Limerick also proved popular. A farewell party, at- tended by the host families, was held in the school in Kildysart to mark the end of a successful exchange ven- ture, which both schools hope will go from strength to strength and will become an annual event in the school calendar.